Just One Night

"Just One Night" is the seventh episode of Lost Noir.

Plot
Maria Collins found herself back in that very soft bed, back in that very small room. She stared at the ceiling, wondering what in the hell this was all about. She always hated not being in control of any situation and she definitely was not in control of this one. Her mind began to wander back to another time in her life, not that long ago.

She remembered, as a little girl, she would listen to music with her mother on an old compact disc player. Her mother, Sylvia Collins, liked the newer bands such as Gun Metal Gray, Tick Tock Tiger, and Look Before You Leap, but one old band she really was into, in that she constantly played over and over the only two albums they had ever recorded, was a band called Drive Shaft.

Maria, herself, had always had a love for music, as far back as she could remember. On her 16th birthday, her mom had bought her an acoustic guitar and an electronic keyboard. Maria took right to both and in no time, was learning to play, compose, and sing her own songs. Sylvia told her she was a natural born musician. Maria would one day learn how true that really was.

For Sylvia’s birthday, Maria thought she would surprise her mom with a song. Since her Mom loved Drive Shaft so much, she decided to perform their one and only hit for her, “You All Everybody”.

Just as Maria started to perform, her mom suddenly broke down into tears. Maria didn’t understand.

“What’s wrong, Mom?!” Maria remembered asking.

“Nothing,” Sylvia replied, “I’m okay. Its just that song brought back memories.”

“Good memories, huh?” Maria asked.

“Yeah, some good,” Sylvia answered, “some not so!”

“I don’t understand,” Maria said.

“Well sweetie, I guess you’re old enough now to understand,” Sylvia began, “so I’ll tell you.”

“Tell me what?” Maria nervously asked.

“About your father,” Sylvia answered, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“He was a swimming instructor, right?” Maria said, “you said he ran off with one of his students soon after I was born.”

Sylvia smiled, “Not quite. You see, I was heavily into the rock and roll scene back when I was about your age.”

Maria laughed, “You were a groupie?”

Sylvia giggled, “I like to think of myself as a loyal and dedicated fan but yeah, I was a groupie.”

“Cool!” Maria replied.

“And I just loved the band called, well, you know,” Sylvia grinned.

“Drive Shaft!” Maria called out.

“Yeah, Drive Shaft,” Sylvia replied, “so me and a couple of friends decided to follow them on their tour. Their “Drive Across America” tour.”

“Awesome!” Maria replied.

“Yeah, well,” Sylvia continued, “when they played L.A., we managed to get back stage and there I met him!”

“Met who?” Maria asked.

“The most wonderful man in the world,” Sylvia answered.

Maria noticed her mom had begun to get a far away look in her eyes.

“He was a god that had stepped down from a musical Olympus!” Sylvia purred.

Maria just rolled her own eyes.

“Well,” Sylvia continued, “he and I hit it off and, as they say, one thing led to another and the rest was history.”

“Are you going to continue to speak in cliché’s,” Maria impatiently asked, “or are you going to tell me what this has to do with my father!”

Sylvia blinked and Maria noticed her mom’s far away look was suddenly gone and replaced with a look of sadness.

“That rock god’s name was Charlie Pace,” Sylvia answered.

“And so?!” Maria asked.

“So Charlie Pace was your father!” Sylvia replied.

Back in the small room, Maria sat up on the soft bed. She remembered being in shock after her mom had told her.

It was just one night, her mom had explained. It turned out that one night was all that was needed!

Charlie had told Sylvia he loved her. That he would call her, whenever he got back that way again, maybe. Sylvia knew Charlie told many girls he loved them and was always too drunk and/or stoned the next morning to remember anything of what he or anyone had ever said or done.

But Sylvia still loved him and continued to follow Charlie and Drive Shaft for the remainder of the tour. But she was never allowed backstage again and when she discovered she was pregnant with his child, she had tried to contact him but to no avail. Nine months later, she even sent him an E-mail with a picture attached of his new baby daughter. But she never heard back from Charlie ever again and she decided not to pursue any legal action. As it turned out, the only thing of lasting value she had ever received from Charlie Pace was the daughter she had named Maria Drivette Shaftene.

Maria also remembered her mother telling her that when she learned about the disappearance and apparent death of Charlie Pace, she had never shed a tear.

Maria, however, felt sadness. A sadness, not for never knowing her real father, but a sadness for her mother who, after all these years, still had love. Love for a man who never remembered that night, who never remembered her mom ever existed.

Suddenly, Maria’s memories disappeared, as the door to her small room bolted open.

“Get up!” Lizergic Oldham ordered, “I want to try a little experiment and you’re gonna be the guinea pig!”